morsel

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A very small piece of food, just enough for one bite.

   Grammar: A countable noun, often followed by of: a morsel of cheese.

   Patterns

   • a morsel of something

   The dog watched for every morsel that fell from the table.

   She picked up the last morsel of cake with her fork.

   Not a single morsel of bread was left.

2. 2nouncountablefigurative

   A very small amount of something other than food, such as news, hope or comfort.

   Grammar: Often in a figurative way with of: a morsel of hope.

   Patterns

   • a morsel of hope
   • a morsel of gossip

   He was grateful for even a morsel of good news.

   The article offered a small morsel of information about the case.

   Not a morsel of evidence supported the claim.

Word forms

Common combinations

a morsel of food

The stray cat hadn't eaten a morsel of food all day.

tasty morsel

Each tasty morsel on the plate was gone in seconds.

a morsel of comfort

Her letter offered a morsel of comfort.

juicy morsel

The gossip columnist loved a juicy morsel about celebrities.

last morsel

He saved the last morsel for his sister.

Synonyms and how they differ

bite

Bite is an everyday word for a mouthful, while morsel sounds smaller and slightly more literary.

crumb

Crumb is a tiny dry fragment, especially of bread, whereas a morsel is a small piece that you can actually eat.

scrap

Scrap often means leftover bits that are not valued, while a morsel is usually something tasty or valuable.

nibble

Nibble describes a tiny bite or the act of eating in small bites, and morsel names the piece itself.

Opposites

Word family

mordant adjective

biting, from the same Latin root meaning to bite

remorse noun

deep regret, literally a biting again

mouthful noun

an amount that fits in the mouth

Commonly confused: morsel or mussel?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “morsel”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words